, 1887-02-23
NOVELS FOR TIE BOYS.
ENORMOUS EDITIONS FOR JuvE-
NILE AMERICAN READERS.

Young America An Unsuitable Devourer
OF Cheap Litcrature-Instructions to
Contriburors-How the Copy is Turned
Out-In War Times.
Tho boys Of this country are Unsuitable
devourcrs of cheap literature. There are
just a dozen cheap libraries in this city
that issue half dime and dime novels for
boys. All except one issue a book every
week, the average of each edition being
about $4,000. Some Of the books run into
several editions. One of Meredith's yarns
was put on the press seven times. An.
other story also sold enormously. About
400 authors are engaged in writing these
books. The prices paid vary greatly. One
publisher says he pays from $40 to $15 to
new men and gets his old writer's very
cheap. For the $10to $15 a writer has to
furnish copy OF 30, 900 words, or from
twenty to thirty words for a cent. An
other library pays about 1926, and goes up
to $500 for reputation and popularity.
Another pays $40 to $3.50, and won't ac-
cept anything 1t doesn't consider worth
$40. 1t issue printed instructions to all
contributors MS follows;
"Authors who write for our considera-
ton will bear in mind that: We prohibit
all things offensive to good taste, in ex-
preston or incident; VT prohibit subjects
or characters that carry IN immoral faint;
We prohibit tho repetition of any occur
renee which, though true, is better left I'M
told; we prohibit what cannot be read
with satisfaction by every right minded
person, old and young alike; we require
your best work; we require unquestioned
originality; we require pronounced
strength of plot and high dramatic inter
est of story; we require grace and pre-
cision OF narrative styles and correctness
in composition; authors must be familiar
with characters and places which they In
troduce, and not attempt to write in fields
OF which they have no intimate knowl-
edge"
U THE COPY.
The concern that issues these instruc-
tions requires 40, 900 to so, 900 words, and
Mt the cheapest rate would be five and one
third words for n cent. The cheap rate
named thus pays three-ffths the price of
ordinary copying. The authors of estab-
lished popularity get very satisfactory
prices. The number OF persons who ex-
pertinent with the business of writing
these stories is declared to be wonderful.
Some of the libraries reject three out OF
four manuscripts, Others eight out of ten,
not counting the productions Of the writers
hat are on the regular corps, n who
can grind out the same kin of copy with
the precision Of machinery. The latter
are supposed to get up their stories on the
principle of a game of cribbage, and they
simply take the pegs out of one hole and
stick them in another, adding variety and
producing the originality called for in the
instructions by changing the starting
point from the center to the corners, OF
vice versa, and picking up the pegs in a
diagonal line or around the circle, as the
case may be. Some of the best writer's in
the country are stated to have attempted
this line of writing, but have failed,
branching out into irrelevant dialogue
II padding up with descriptions, not be-
ing able to keep up the interest in stu.
ntion or dialogue. The latter is absolutely
essential, as the average boy has to slide
down the hill OF one page very fast or he
won't try TO climb the top of the next.
One of the library publishers was
stopped by Anthony Comstock from pub
fishing the Jesse james series, under the
law prohibiting the making OF heroes Out
of notorious criminals. The publishers
say 1t takes an edition of 1000 to pay fol-
n sixteen page dime book and 10, 900 for
the half dime work. The business is now
picking up from the depression of the pasi
few years. During the war the dime
novels sold enormously among the soldiers.
The war library is playing out, the sales
having dwindled to very light figures.
The books of these libraries are sol all
over the country.-New York Mail and
Express.